Symposium on Street Homelessness
2018 | Rome, Italy
Practitioners, researchers and theologians came together in Rome, Italy to discuss global street homelessness in an event hosted by DePaul University’s IGH, Depaul International, Niagara University, St John’s University, and the University Durham’s Centre for Catholic Studies. The event combined the expertise of a host of sources and speakers, all from vastly different backgrounds–some religious, others not–with the aim of allowing on-the-ground experience of solving street homelessness to inform, and be informed by, the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.
Confronting the issue of street homelessness globally will require collaboration across sectors, societies, and beliefs. The Symposium’s participants came from a range of backgrounds and geographies, including India, Chile, Slovakia, Kenya, the Philippines, the UK, and the United States.
At the conclusion of the two-day Symposium, participants created an action plan with priorities for strategy, research, and publication.
About the Symposium
The Symposium hopes that by bringing together leading minds in philosophy, theology, and practice, progress can be made toward bridging the gap between thought and action in order to clearly determine what we already know works and how to implement it alongside highlighting areas where we do not yet have solutions and determine how to find them.
Day 1: “Why should people feel alone and without help when they are in great need?”
In some ways, the first day of the Symposium was a matter of reviewing what is already broadly known about issues of homelessness globally: common inflow streams, successful interventions, and the ways in which collaboration and policy can interact to help people move on from the streets. There was a marked emphasis on solutions that we know work.
Day 2: “Solidarity is not lip service.”
Day 2 of the Symposium on Street Homelessness began with a simple question: “How can we ensure that the conversations which happen here result in concrete actions happening later?”
Rome Symposium: Graphic Notes
See all the graphic notes from the conference, created by Molly Burhans (email: burhansm@good-lands.org | web: http://burhansm.wixsite.com/mollyb)
